Preparation and Characterization of Nanocrystalline CuS Thin Films for Dye-Sensitized Solar cells

Abstract

A dye-sensitized nanocrystalline copper sulphide (CuS) solar cell is developed using crystal violet (CV) as a photosensitizer. Nanocrystalline CuS thin film is deposited on indium tin oxide- (ITO-) coated glass substrate by chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. These thin films are characterized for their structural, optical and electrical properties using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Optical absorbance measurements from UV-visible spectrometer at normal incidence of light in the wavelength range of 320–1100 nm and current-voltage (I-V) measurements were also made. The deposited CuS thin film on ITO-coated glass substrate may be used as a photo electrode in the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The carbon soot collected on the substrate is used as a counter electrode. The counter electrode coupled with a dye-sensitized CuS thin film along with a redox electrolyte mixture is used to develop a complete photovoltaic cell. The fill factor and efficiency were evaluated for the developed DSSC.